New Biomass Station- what's your view?
25th February 2011
Helius Energy has submitted proposals to build a 100MW biomass power station within the Port of Southampton, not far from Millbrook station.
I want to hear the views of local residents about the proposals. Along with the Millbrook and Freemantle Labour Teams of Councillor David Furnell, Asa Thorpe and Mary Lloyd, I will be seeking to raise a number of issues with Helius, the City Council and the Infrastructure Planning Commission (who have the final say over the project) and want to make sure we have as much input from local residents as possible when making our representations.
Issues we will already be seeking to raise regarding the plant proposal include:
- The safeguards in place for monitoring air-quality and noise pollution around the site
- The congestion impact on neighbouring roads
- The location of the plant within the overall site footprint, and in particular how close it will be to residential homes
- The lack of a Combined Heat and Power aspect to the current site proposals (which would make the plant more energy efficient).
Missed opportunity
We will also be raising the broader issue about whether local residents could get a more direct benefit from the scheme. A few years ago Labour sought to establish a community heating scheme for Millbrook, where local green energy generation would contribute to lower energy bills for residents in the west of the city. This scheme was later cancelled by the Conservative Council. So while a biomass power station now may be built in Millbrook, there is no plan for local residents to receive any direct benefit, which we believe is potentially a big missed opportunity.
If you have a view or concern about the proposed plant, or if you would like to be kept informed about our work on this issue, please get in touch with my office.
Helius are also inviting views to be submitted to them directly as part of their consultation. You can submit a view by going to southamptonbiomasspower.com.
What do you think about this story? Email Alan